Journal-Sept

Sept 30
BONUS DAY IN CHRISTCHURCH II
Well I did fly today but I am back in Christchurch for another night. We boarded the plane on time but had an aborted take off. While going full throttle down the runway we had power "issues". The pilot had to apply full brakes and thrust reversers to get the plane stopped before hitting the end of the runway. I am here to write about it so you can tell we did stop in time. It was close though. Then we waited in the plane while it was being repaired. We finally got airborne but after 2 hours the flight crew announced the plane had pressurization " issues" and we had to return to Christchurch. So today I spent 6 hours in the plane and am right back where I started. I went back to the same hotel but my room was rented and had to switch rooms. The plane is being worked on right now and we will try again tomorrow if they get it repaired. Another night in Christchurch, another $90 per diem for food.

UPDATE
I was just notified that the plane has been repaired and we will try again at 6 am tomorrow.

UPDATE
I was just awakened from a very sound sleep and told the plane is indeed NOT fixed and the flight is delayed for another day . Instead of flying tomorrow Oct 1st , I go to the USAP offices and collect ANOTHER $90 per diem.

Sept 29
BONUS DAY IN CHRISTCHURCH
I am still here in New Zealand. I got up at 3:30 this morning to be ready for a 5 AM shuttle to my flight to the ice. 5 minutes before I was planning on walking out the door of my room and checking out of the hotel I received a call that the flight had been delayed 24 hours due to foul weather between here and McMurdo. Back to bed I went but was too wide awake to sleep. We all caught a shuttle out to the USAP offices and collected $90 each to cover our food and expenses other than our hotel for another day. I used the delay to do a bit more shopping. I purchased nail clippers, a couple nice ink pens and a bottle of shampoo. I discovered that the shampoo I have been using for the last 2 weeks and could never get to lather is actually conditioner. My hair is very soft and shiney right now. This evening I plan on eating a big salad for dinner since fresh lettuce and salad is not served often on the ice. I will get to bed early again tonight since I must get up at 3:30 again tomorrow. The record for weather delayed flights to McMurdo is 10 or 12 days. I sure hope that does not happen to me.

Sept 27
Today seemed like a good day to get out of Christchurch and see some of the New Zealand countryside. Four of us traveled 75 kilometers to the coastal town of Akaroa. Nestled in the bowl of an ancient volcano Akaroa has a population of about 600 and is a quiet fishing and sightseeing community with a very pretty harbor. After a fine lunch of fish and chips we wandered through town and into the shops along the water front. The ice cream store was our favorite ! It was just a relaxing day in a very nice New Zealand town. As excited as I am to fly to Antarctica in 2 days I will be sad to leave New Zealand. Kiwis are very friendly people and have a wonderful country. One of the things they do that impresses me is they have no dimes or nickles. Everything you buy is rounded up or down to the nearest ten cents. That makes so much more sense than always getting a few cents back in change with a purchase. They also use a one dollar coin instead of a paper dollar bill. It seems to work great here. I wish the US could make it work. The only thing I do not care for is that they drive on the "wrong" side of the road. It makes it very tricky crossing the street since we are used to looking to our right for on coming traffic. Here it comes from the left. There have been several close calls crossng the street since we have been here and one girl did get bumped lightly by a car she did not see coming. When I talk with the Kiwis about it they say they have the same problem when they visit the US. Tomorrow I have to repack all my gear and get ready for my flight at 6 AM Tuesday morning. I did go shopping and added several items to what I am taking to the ice. I added 2 wool work shirts and 10 tubes of SPF 29 chapstick. I feel I now have everything I need to be reasonably comfortable on the ice for the next 4 1/2 months. My next update will be after I arrive at McMurdo Station. Until then here are some photos of Akaroa New Zealand.

Sept 25
I am happy to say that I passed the test today. The test had 2 parts. Part one was written questions and part 2 was a practicum. I scored 100% on part 1 and 99% on part 2. All 8 of us in the class passed which is a very good thing because our jobs depend on it. We are all now certified by the US Air Force to work with their planes for the next 2 years. After the testing it was time to draw our Extreme Cold Weather (ECW) gear from the Clothing Distribution Center( CDC). In the lobby of the CDC they have examples of everything they offer hanging on the wall. Since I have been to the ice before they have a record of my sizes and had 2 bags of gear ready for me to try on.

Here is what I drew from the CDC.

1 heavy Parka
1 set heavy weight insulated Carhartt overalls and jacket with fur lined hood
1 set heavy fleece pants and shirt
1 heavy fleece jacket
1 pair heavy insulated mittens
2 pair insulated leather work gloves
1 pair snow goggles with clear and dark lens
1 neck gator
1 pair FDX Antarctic boots with quilted liners
2 orange canvas bags

When you combine that with the gear I brought from home I am ready to survive outside in some pretty harsh weather.

We have people arriving now every day that are scheduled to fly with me to the ice next Tuesday. Everything from cooks to janitors, there will be over 100 people on the first flight and about the same every other day or so until the station is fully manned by the end of October. Luckily I have the weekend off to catch up on sleep, sightsee and wander the New Zealand countryside. Hopefully the weather will be clear and allow me to get some good photos.

Let me explain to you what all this is. The scotch egg is a hard boiled egg wrapped in sausage , rolled in seasoned bread crumbs and deep fried. What is there not to love ? Scotch eggs can be eaten cold or hot and are often taken on picnics by Kiwis. I prefer them warm. It may look small but it weighs almost 3/4 of a pound and is very filling. The onion cheese scroll is stuffed with 3 kinds of cheese and diced red onions. It is best served warm as well. The ingredients for the lemon lime bitters is carbonated water , cane sugar , lime juice , lemon juice ,angostura bark and tropical spices. It is lightly carbonated but has a bite to the flavor. Very unusual. The only thing that would make this supper more "Kiwi" is if I added a big slice of pickled beet. The Kiwis love pickled beets and serve them on hamburgers. I am no beet fan. Since New Zealand was settled by the British the food here is very much influenced by that. Here is a photo showing the scotch egg sliced open. After eating supper I am quite full and will spend the evening watching rugby on TV. New Zealand is a great place. Good night.

Sept 16
After spending 2 days in Denver Colorado for informational briefings I flew to Christchurch New Zealand. It took almost 22 hours to get here. From Los Angeles California I flew almost 15 hours non stop to Sidney Australia. I was pleasantly surprised to find the flight was on an Airbus A-380. It is the largest airliner in the world. It holds over 500 passengers and cruises at more than 550 miles per hour. The plane I was on was only 3 weeks old . It was sparkling clean and smelled new as well. It was the quietest plane I have ever flown in and very smooth. I was lucky enough to have an aisle seat and slept almost 7 hours of the trip. The person setting next to me was from Sidney Australia and very interesting to chat with. Thank you Jo for a very pleasant trip. I felt pretty good upon arrival in Sidney. After an hour layover I boarded a smaller jet for the 3 hour flight to New Zealand. On take off I did get a glimpse of the famous Sidney Opera House . By this time I was really tired of flying and had been in the same clothes for 36 hours. Needless to say all I wanted was a shower and clean clothes. After arriving in Christchurch clearing customs was a real chore. The Kiwis are very serious about keeping strange plants and animals out of the country. They inspect every pair of hiking boots for any dirt or seeds stuck to the soles and make you wash them off if any is found. They are also serious about food brought into the country. A girl on my flight brought in a bag of Trail Mix and did not list it on her customs form. The inspection dog found it in her bag and they fined her $200 on the spot. After a short van ride to my hotel I was able to get a shower and a change of clothes. I felt so much better. My room has a kitchenette so I bought groceries and have settled in for my 14 days here. I am in an Air Force class with 8 others. The course covers military airlift planning and execution. Since we are all civilians working with military planes the Air Force wants to make sure we do things their way. Our 2 instructors are from Travis Air Force Base in California. We will have the week end off and I plan on exploring more of Christchurch and the New Zealand countryside then.

Sept 9 2009

It is packing day. I am allowed 150 pounds of baggage of which about 35 pounds is ECW ( Extreme Cold Weather) gear that will be issued to me in New Zealand. Here is the list of everything I am taking.

1 book ( "Bobke II" by Bob Roll )

1 baseball style cap

2 Nalgene water bottles

1 pair Rocky Ranger 6223 work boots

1 pair Columbia hiking boots

1 pair athletic shoes

1 pair shower shoes

6 pair Carhartt Arctic weight socks

2 pair athletic socks

1 pair dress socks

1 Pendleton heavy wool shirt

1 Carhartt flannel shirt

3 long sleeve t shirts ( green ,black ,brown)

3 short sleeve t shirts

1 sport jacket ( for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner)

1 set mountain weight Hot Chillys long underwear

1 set medium weight long underwear

2 pair Wrangler jeans

1 pair khaki pants

2 belts

1 pair gym shorts

1 Northface fleece jacket

1 dress shirt

1 light casual jacket

6 pair boxer shorts

2 wool stocking caps

2 neck gators

1 balaclava

2 towels

2 wash cloths

toiletries and vitamins

1 box drier sheets

2 wrist watches

travel alarm clock

1 pair Glacier glasses

spare eye glasses

MP3 player

laptop computer

digital camera

electric extension cord

power strip

calculator

note book, paper and pens

binoculars